September 11, 2024 • 31 mins
Can agape love, a divine and selfless love, truly transform our lives? Join me, B.R.Maul, as we journey through 1 John 4:12-16 to uncover how experiencing God's love through the Holy Spirit can make His presence palpable in our everyday interactions. We discuss how the Holy Spirit guides our understanding of the Scriptures and the importance of personal study in growing our faith. Discover the profound connection between believers and God, grounded in love and obedience, and explore the transformative power that comes from keeping His commandments.
In this episode, we also confront the spiritual battles that challenge our faith. We expose Satan's strategies to mislead believers and emphasize the vital need for genuine repentance and a personal relationship with God. Reflecting on global conflicts and their spiritual implications, I reassure you of God's ultimate sovereignty and love. Listen as I offer insights on navigating these challenges and the role of the Holy Spirit in helping us stay true to our faith. Reach out with your questions as we deepen our understanding and commitment to living God's way.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
B.R.Maul (00:29):
Hello and good day.
I am BR Maul and this is LivingGod's Way in an Ungodly World.
Thanks a lot for joining me.
Good to have you here.
We are continuing in the book of1 John.
We're in chapter 4, and we'llbe going over verses 12 through
16 today.
(00:49):
John continues to guide us inhow it is that we can know that
we are born-again believers, andthe theme in the book of 1 John
is love.
The book of 1 John is love, howimportant it is, this agape
(01:10):
love, the kind of love that onlyGod can gift us, and that we
must have the Holy Spirit in usto be able to love in agape love
.
So last week we talked a lotabout that, but we're going to
continue on with this themebecause that's what John talks
about in 1 John.
It's important enough that Johncontinues to go over this
(01:32):
something in modern societies wecan take for granted because
we're so used to books andmovies, because love has taken
on something that is different,that isn't godly, that has
become selfish.
Love has become an emotion thatwe shoot for, that we want to
(01:54):
obtain, but it's not somethingthat we do, it's not something
that we exercise as agape love,because agape love is a choice
for born-again believers.
It's not a choice for those whoare not born again.
It's impossible to love the wayGod loves and the way God
(02:16):
commands us, his children, tolove each other and others.
So if you're not born again,unfortunately you just won't
understand agape love, thesemessages that we continue to go
over in 1 John, because 1 Johncovers so much of love that it
doesn't make sense for those whoare not born again.
(02:38):
So, as usual, I will read theverses and then I'll backtrack
and go over them.
But something newer I have beendoing recently is encouraging
you, my listener, to get a holdof me.
There are several ways of doingthat.
There is a Message Me tab forthose who are visiting my
(03:03):
Buzzsprout page and for anybodywho is listening from a
directory, podcast directory,like Spotify.
That's one of the popular onesand there's others On my home
area.
There is a tab and I called itMessage Me.
(03:24):
There's no way of me gettingback to you.
That is an anonymous way of you, listener, of contacting me and
you can share how you feel thatI am doing.
But I'm also encouraging you touse that to send me questions.
If you send me a questionthrough the message me tab,
(03:47):
there's no way of me knowing whoyou are, there's no way of me
responding as well Now, unlessin your message leave an email,
for example, that I can respondback if you're looking for a
response.
But if you just use the messageme tab, ask me anything in
God's word and I will share thatin the next podcast.
(04:11):
So you'd only have to listen tothe next podcast to get that
answered.
Otherwise, you can also contactme just going to my homepage my
website is brmaulcom and clickon contact, now that I will get
(04:32):
your email, because you do needto include your email for that,
and I would be happy to alsoshare your question on a podcast
.
Don't be shy.
This is the way that we helpeach other learn as brothers and
sisters in the faith, or forsomeone who is seeking out who
Jesus Christ is, it's a greatway to learn.
(04:54):
So with the reading 1 John 4,12-16, no one has seen God at
any time.
If we love one another, godabides in us and his love has
been perfected in us.
By this, we know that we abidein him and he in us, because he
(05:18):
has given us of his Spirit andwe have seen and testify that
the Father has sent the Son asSavior of the world.
Whoever confesses that Jesus isthe Son of God, god abides in
him and he in God.
16.
(05:38):
And we have known and believedthe love that God has for us.
So thank you, heavenly Father,for this chance to teach from
your word these words are fromyou.
(06:01):
The Bible is written from theinspiration of the Holy Spirit
that these are not merely wordsof man, but they have been
inspired by you, god.
So help us learn, help us togrow and, for those who are born
again, continue to sanctifythem and make them more like
your son Jesus, as they readyour word and as they grow in
(06:24):
these teachings.
For those who do not know yourson, lord, I pray, help them to
take their guard down, whetherit's pride or insecurity,
whatever it may be, lord, buthelp them by opening their heart
and receiving your word today,and I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
So in verse 12, we are told byJohn that no one has seen God at
(06:49):
any time Seems to be an obviousstatement.
There's a lot of people,perhaps, that want to claim they
have seen God or have seenJesus, but that's not happening
because scripture would tell usotherwise.
It's one of the things that Ilove about God's Word is that
there's no mystery.
(07:10):
You just need to read it and,with the help of the Holy Spirit
, you can understand God's Word.
You do not need advancedtraining.
I am testimony of that becauseI have not received advanced
training.
I'm not some graduate of sometheological school, a seminary.
(07:31):
I was attending a seminary, butGod has shown me in that
process of just how corruptthings have gotten and that
mankind we have decided to makechurch into a business Like all
businesses.
Now, for those who want toteach God's Word, the big
(07:53):
business, big denomination, nowhas their own seminaries and
they make it clear you mustfirst and foremost receive this
advanced education so you canteach God's Word.
But by reading God's Wordbeloved.
We know that the first centurychurch did nothing like that.
For hundreds of years thatwasn't even heard of.
(08:16):
Just take a look at theapostles, the twelve that Jesus
hand-picked to be those that hewould use to spread the gospel.
He picked common men.
Four of them were fishermen.
He did not choose society'select.
(08:38):
If he would have, he would havegone right to the Pharisees,
because the Pharisees were theelect.
They're the ones who couldrecite the Pentateuch, the first
five books of the Bible,verbatim, word for word, and
they took great pride in that.
And that was part of theproblem, that they took pride in
(08:59):
that.
So when John says no one hasseen God at any time, yeah,
that's a pretty simple statementand he makes it for a very good
reason the very fact that noone has seen God.
And yet we know God exists.
You ever think of that?
So no one has ever seen God,but we know God exists.
(09:23):
Now, of course, there's gettinginto his creation.
I believe it's Psalm 8, talkingabout the moon and the stars
and just how great God'screation is.
And yet he takes the time tolove us people.
And, yes, I think we're prettyamazing when it comes to how he
(09:45):
has made us.
The human body is verysophisticated and we know very
little about it, but when youthink of the stars and the moon,
what's all out there in thesecond heaven space, just how
much power and energy is in thesun alone, for example?
And of course, the sun is astar, but it's a big star to us,
(10:07):
but overall it's not that bigwhen it comes to the universe.
So we're pretty small and noone has seen God, but we know
God exists.
Because John says if we love oneanother, god abides in us and
his love has been perfected inus.
So, even though the worlddoesn't see God directly, if we
(10:34):
love one another, john is sayingwell then God abides in us.
He's saying people will see Godthrough us because of the love
that we have for one another,how we take care of one another
as in brethren, by the way,brothers and sisters in the
faith, are you in a church todaythat you love one another, and
(11:00):
does the world see you, yourbrothers and sisters in the
faith, and how you take care ofone another, how you love one
another, how that love for eachother and for God spills into
your community.
Because John's saying that,with that love, that's how
people see God.
People see God when we loveeach other and that is how his
(11:30):
love has been perfected in us.
That's how he lets the worldknow that he's God and that he
is love from his obedientchildren.
Verse 13,.
John says by this we know thatwe abide in him and he in us,
because he has given us of hisSpirit.
(11:51):
With the Holy Spirit dwellingin us, that is how we can love
other people.
Agape love, not the Hollywoodlove, not the cheap love that
the world knows.
But we know because of hisspirit.
The Holy Spirit speaks to ourspirit.
But that's how we know that weabide in him, in God, and that
(12:16):
he abides in us, because theHoly Spirit tells us that.
The Holy Spirit communicatesthat to us.
We're never alone.
That is us born-again believers, because the Holy Spirit's in
us.
I hope that's quite remarkableif you think about that.
The maker of the universe, godAlmighty Yahweh, abides in us,
(12:40):
abides in us.
It is absolutely amazing andyet goes unnoticed so often
within the circles ofChristianity.
But there's such power in thatVerse 14, and we have seen and
testify that the Father has sentthe Son as Savior of the world.
(13:04):
So verse 14, I'm sorry, verse13, mention of the Spirit and
God.
And now we're talking aboutFather and the Son.
There's our triune, god workingtogether, father, son and Holy
Spirit.
How they work together.
God has chosen that he willabide.
(13:25):
He will make known to us, makeknown to our spirit, upon being
born again, who he is in hisHoly Spirit.
The Holy Spirit communicatesthat to us.
And are you listening to that,beloved?
Do you take the time to listenafter maybe reading God's Word
or praying, meditating on whatGod has told you through His
(13:48):
Word?
Do you let the Holy Spiritspeak to you?
Do you block out the world?
You should.
If you're not in the practiceof doing that, I recommend that
every single day, you find acertain time of day where you
can be alone for some time andfind yourself a comfortable
place and start to either readGod's word or verses that you
(14:13):
have memorized, think about them, meditate on them, say them out
loud, perhaps, and listen.
Listen with your heart to whatthe Holy Spirit tells you,
because love certainly is thefoundation.
Love is the pillar ofChristianity.
Now, not for salvation, that'sthe blood of Christ, and it's
(14:36):
the believing in the blood ofChrist and that true repentance
that a person is born again,when they believe in their heart
that Jesus was resurrected fromthe dead, bodily resurrected
from the dead, but once a childof God.
I argue, then, that love,because what we have been
(14:56):
learning in just John alone, butPaul talks a lot about love and
loving one another and lovingGod.
Those are even commands.
Jesus says that to fulfill thelaw, love the Lord, your God,
with all of your heart, with allof your soul, with all of your
might.
And second to that is love yourneighbor as yourself.
(15:19):
And yes, loving yourself is arequirement.
Then, of course, not the kindof loving ourself like prideful
love, but appreciating who weare, because God himself made us
.
God knew who you were beforeeven time itself existed.
But this whole thing of love,one needs to grab a hold of it
(15:44):
and remember that, because it isthe pillar, it is the
foundation of the relationshipwith God.
We can go back to the book ofJohn, so the gospel of John,
chapter 14, verse 23,.
And Jesus is speaking If anyoneloves me, he will keep my word
(16:05):
and my Father will love him andwe will come to him and make our
home with him.
That's just awesome.
Obedience is integrated in agapelove.
Obedience goes with agape love.
It is hand in hand.
We can't have one without theother.
(16:28):
God is righteousness and he islove.
Love and righteousness gotogether.
And if we are not obeying, ifwe are not obedient to God,
first of all, then we're notbeing righteous and we are
commanded to be righteous, butthen that also means that we're
not loving him.
So we can't claim to love Godand yet not follow his ways?
(16:53):
Beloved, are you followingGod's ways?
Are you embracing what God'sword says and then doing it and
not just reading it, and then itbecomes just some rule that
floats around in space somewhere, but that you embrace it and
living that way becomes anecessity for you.
(17:16):
If anyone loves me, jesus sayshe will keep my word, very
crystal clear, not maybe orpartly.
He will keep, and whose word?
My word, that's the Bible, thescriptures.
(17:40):
We will do everything possibleto do that, and when we do that,
jesus says and my Father willlove him.
Remember Jesus is the only wayto salvation.
He is our Savior.
No one goes to the Father exceptthrough Jesus Christ, and
that's why all other religionsare just that.
(18:03):
They are only a religion,because they don't see Jesus
Christ as the Savior.
They don't recognize Jesus asthe Son of God, and for that
very reason it's only a religion.
Son of God, and for that veryreason it's only a religion.
They do not have access to God,the Father.
They have access to their ownGod, but that is their own
(18:24):
made-up God.
That is an idol, and yet theybelieve that that idol is the
God.
But if they don't recognizeJesus which they don't.
Or even for those who recognizethe name Jesus, they still
don't recognize Jesus which theydon't.
Or even for those who recognizethe name Jesus, they still
don't recognize Jesus for who hetruly is.
And Jesus says my Father willlove him and we.
(18:47):
So the Father and the Son, willcome to him and make our home
with him.
And it comes to mind that we, Ibelieve, would be the Holy
Spirit as well, because a personis born again and the Holy
Spirit takes resident in thatperson.
God himself, God, the Father,makes sure at that point in time
(19:10):
his spirit is in you.
So that's how important thislove is.
And love encompasses obedience.
So, going back to 1 John, verse15, whoever confesses that Jesus
is the Son of God, god abidesin him and he in God.
(19:31):
There's more of that connectionthat confesses, by the way,
that's believing in one's heart.
That's confession with themouth.
What one believes in theirheart, that's not head knowledge
.
So whoever confesses that Jesusis the Son of God, god abides
(19:52):
in him and he in God.
And of course that is theingredient of being born again,
right, being able to confess.
Romans 10 tells us that withthe mouth one confesses the Lord
Jesus.
There's that confession.
So that is part of being bornagain.
I say part because confessingthe Lord Jesus meaning that a
(20:15):
person confesses from theirheart that he is their Savior
and Lord of their life, and bydoing that one needs to
recognize and they do recognizeat that point that they are
broken and that they need theirSavior and there's repentance.
So that repentance is offeredup to God.
(20:36):
The person turns their life andthey are looking at God the
Father and they are saying Ican't do this alone.
And then in their heart, withtheir heart, they know that God
the Father raised Jesus from thedead and his blood was the
sacrifice to pay all of theirsin.
So whoever confesses that Jesusis the Son of God, god abides
(20:59):
in him and he in God.
It's amazing we are connectedwith the triune God by the
triune God Verse 16, and we haveknown and believed the love
that God has for us.
God is love, the love that Godhas for us, god is love, and he
who abides in love abides in Godand God in him.
(21:30):
John is really trying to make itclear, beloved, that love is
the pillar, that love is thefoundation, that we need that
love because God is a God, of arelationship.
He is not a distant God upthere, just kind of once in a
while peeking in at us.
He is with us.
He is enduring the pain of ourlife with us.
He is guiding us through hisHoly Spirit.
(21:52):
He is loving us through theHoly Spirit, through reading his
word.
He is loving us, and not onlylove but abide.
Isn't that something that isthe acceptance of each other?
It's an intimate relationshipand I love that.
(22:13):
God wants a relationship withme and he wants a relationship
with you.
In the last part of this, verse16, john reminds us that God is
love.
So when we abide in love, weare abiding in God.
That's why we are told inscriptures that we cannot claim
(22:36):
to be a child of God and nothave the love of the Father in
us.
In today's time, right now, withIsrael being at war, there are
many people of course theenemies of Israel who want them
completely wiped off the face ofthe earth.
(22:58):
It's no surprise.
Anybody who's read the Bible.
That's already been a prophecy.
We've already been told thatthat is.
The goal of the enemy of God isto annihilate, to wipe out
Israel.
Satan failed miserably.
He can't do anything to Godhimself.
(23:19):
God the Father, because he wastossed out of heaven.
God the Father, because he wastossed out of heaven.
And a third of the angels,those who agreed with Satan.
So then Satan decides okay,since I'm the ruler of this
world down here.
Oh, here comes Jesus manifestedin flesh.
Well then, I'll just take himout.
(23:40):
And Satan tried him out.
And Satan tried, he eventempted Jesus.
He tried getting Jesus to bowdown to him.
He tried everything he couldand then he thought he had him.
He thought this is it.
The guy is hanging on a cross,he is dead and gone.
But lo and behold, look whathappened.
Jesus conquers death, sodefeated once again, again.
(24:08):
Now he knows Satan knows forsure I can't conquer God, I
can't conquer his son.
So I'm going to do everything Ican then to wipe out those that
he loves.
And there's two different ways.
He tries to wipe out us, hischildren, god's children.
He does that.
He hates us.
So he does everything that hecan to either make it so people
(24:30):
think they are born again.
He has done an amazing job overthe centuries at convincing
people of some great lies, suchas be baptized as a baby and
that's it.
You will go to heaven.
Well, that's a big lie that,unfortunately, has taken
millions to hell because theybelieved on that and they
(24:53):
decided good enough for me, andso they just believed in their
baptism.
To this very day, there aredenominations that teach and
preach.
Remember your baptism, look toyour baptism, but it's not the
baptism.
Baptism of water doesabsolutely nothing.
But Satan has done a great job,hasn't he?
(25:13):
Baffled a whole bunch of people, or he'll put it in the hearts.
He keeps on whispering topeople and hey, as long as you
keep going to church everySunday you go to church, unless
you're sick or something reallyimportant comes up.
You attend church prettyregularly.
Oh, and look it, your church ispretty big.
Yep, your pastor, he's prettyfamous, and so you're going to
(25:36):
that church.
You're good to go, don't worryabout it.
Oh, just volunteer every oncein a while, do this or do that.
You know what?
Yeah, you're good with God.
Again, another great lie thatSatan has taught over the
centuries.
And people continue to biteinto it.
Why?
Because they love it.
They love the taste of thatfruit, because it's easy.
(25:59):
They don't have to look attheir sin, they don't have to
admit that they are broken andthat they need a savior.
They don't have to repent and,let's face it, too, that's tough
, isn't it?
For those of us who are bornagain and have gone through that
process of repenting, I tellyou that's not easy.
The flesh, very prideful,doesn't want to do that.
(26:20):
We want to be our own boss.
We want to be able to controlour salvation and our
destination.
So Satan continues to go afterthose that God loves.
And with the war that'shappening right now, well,
satan's going to do everythingpossible through the hearts of
(26:41):
mankind.
There are protests around theworld for Palestine.
They deserve their land back towipe out the Jewish people.
Satan, I think he believes thatif he actually can wipe out all
the Jews technically, if hewere able to do that, I guess he
(27:02):
would win, because think aboutit.
If he were able to do that, Iguess he would win Because think
about it.
Think about it just for amoment beloved, because there
are prophecies that have yet tobe fulfilled, and one of those
is for Jesus to be able to comeback and rule.
He will sit on the throne ofDavid, and it's not in existence
yet.
It was in history, but it's notnow, but someday it will be.
(27:27):
So Satan figures, if I wipe outevery Jew, guess what?
That can't be built, but weknow that's not going to happen.
God is love.
He loves you so much.
Don't buy into what the enemyis telling you.
He loves you so much.
Don't buy into what the enemyis telling you.
Look away from the world.
Remember, the devil owns thisworld right now.
(27:50):
The war yeah, we know how thewar ends, but there are still
battles and there are certainbattles that, yeah, he's winning
, but it's all under theguidance of our Heavenly Father.
And if Satan can convincebillions of people, all these
fake religions out there, andkeep them from believing in
(28:13):
Jesus Christ, the only way toheaven, well, yeah, he's
preventing a lot of people.
It's not just his fault,because he can't make anybody go
to hell, but he knows that thehuman heart is quick to grab
onto whatever it is that we like, and, just like with Adam and
(28:34):
Eve, there's that fruit that hedangles in front of people and
they grab a hold of it andthat's what they chew on instead
of doing what they need to doand should do, and that is, read
God's Word and find the truthfor themselves.
So in my teachings, I continueto encourage you to do that.
(28:55):
You get into God's Word.
You read God's Word, beloved.
I'm here for you if you needany help.
I continue to offer up a placewhere you can contact me and my
website or message me and theanonymous message text there
that can be sent and I answerquestions.
I am more than happy to answerquestions, but so many people
(29:19):
are afraid to, and I don't knowwhy.
But open God's Word, read it foryourself.
You pray to God, you speak tothe Holy Father.
You don't need a priest, youdon't need anybody else to
intercede, because Jesus Christis our intercessor.
Well, that's about all I havefor today.
(29:42):
Beloved, please get a hold ofme with any of your questions or
comments.
You're not in this alone andI'm not the only one that is out
there teaching God's Word andreaching out to people in order
to help them to understand thetruth, to get through all these
lies that have been generatedover the centuries.
(30:06):
There are a lot of other goodteachers out there, good pastors
, good, just Christians.
So open up God's Word, learnwho he is, love Him, pray to Him
, worship Him and grow withother brothers and sisters in
the faith.
This world is only going to gettougher.
(30:28):
Things are only going to getworse as Satan continues to work
overtime, and if you try doingthis by yourself, you won't last
.
I'm here for you and until nexttime, god bless, thank you.
Hello and good day.
I am BR Maul and this is LivingGod's Way in an Ungodly World.
Thanks a lot for joining me.
Good to have you here.
We are continuing in the book of1 John.
We're in chapter 4, and we'llbe going over verses 12 through
16 today.
(00:49):
John continues to guide us inhow it is that we can know that
we are born-again believers, andthe theme in the book of 1 John
is love.
The book of 1 John is love, howimportant it is, this agape
(01:10):
love, the kind of love that onlyGod can gift us, and that we
must have the Holy Spirit in usto be able to love in agape love
.
So last week we talked a lotabout that, but we're going to
continue on with this themebecause that's what John talks
about in 1 John.
It's important enough that Johncontinues to go over this
(01:32):
something in modern societies wecan take for granted because
we're so used to books andmovies, because love has taken
on something that is different,that isn't godly, that has
become selfish.
Love has become an emotion thatwe shoot for, that we want to
(01:54):
obtain, but it's not somethingthat we do, it's not something
that we exercise as agape love,because agape love is a choice
for born-again believers.
It's not a choice for those whoare not born again.
It's impossible to love the wayGod loves and the way God
(02:16):
commands us, his children, tolove each other and others.
So if you're not born again,unfortunately you just won't
understand agape love, thesemessages that we continue to go
over in 1 John, because 1 Johncovers so much of love that it
doesn't make sense for those whoare not born again.
(02:38):
So, as usual, I will read theverses and then I'll backtrack
and go over them.
But something newer I have beendoing recently is encouraging
you, my listener, to get a holdof me.
There are several ways of doingthat.
There is a Message Me tab forthose who are visiting my
(03:03):
Buzzsprout page and for anybodywho is listening from a
directory, podcast directory,like Spotify.
That's one of the popular onesand there's others On my home
area.
There is a tab and I called itMessage Me.
(03:24):
There's no way of me gettingback to you.
That is an anonymous way of you, listener, of contacting me and
you can share how you feel thatI am doing.
But I'm also encouraging you touse that to send me questions.
If you send me a questionthrough the message me tab,
(03:47):
there's no way of me knowing whoyou are, there's no way of me
responding as well Now, unlessin your message leave an email,
for example, that I can respondback if you're looking for a
response.
But if you just use the messageme tab, ask me anything in
God's word and I will share thatin the next podcast.
(04:11):
So you'd only have to listen tothe next podcast to get that
answered.
Otherwise, you can also contactme just going to my homepage my
website is brmaulcom and clickon contact, now that I will get
(04:32):
your email, because you do needto include your email for that,
and I would be happy to alsoshare your question on a podcast
.
Don't be shy.
This is the way that we helpeach other learn as brothers and
sisters in the faith, or forsomeone who is seeking out who
Jesus Christ is, it's a greatway to learn.
(04:54):
So with the reading 1 John 4,12-16, no one has seen God at
any time.
If we love one another, godabides in us and his love has
been perfected in us.
By this, we know that we abidein him and he in us, because he
(05:18):
has given us of his Spirit andwe have seen and testify that
the Father has sent the Son asSavior of the world.
Whoever confesses that Jesus isthe Son of God, god abides in
him and he in God.
16.
(05:38):
And we have known and believedthe love that God has for us.
So thank you, heavenly Father,for this chance to teach from
your word these words are fromyou.
(06:01):
The Bible is written from theinspiration of the Holy Spirit
that these are not merely wordsof man, but they have been
inspired by you, god.
So help us learn, help us togrow and, for those who are born
again, continue to sanctifythem and make them more like
your son Jesus, as they readyour word and as they grow in
(06:24):
these teachings.
For those who do not know yourson, lord, I pray, help them to
take their guard down, whetherit's pride or insecurity,
whatever it may be, lord, buthelp them by opening their heart
and receiving your word today,and I pray in Jesus' name, amen.
So in verse 12, we are told byJohn that no one has seen God at
(06:49):
any time Seems to be an obviousstatement.
There's a lot of people,perhaps, that want to claim they
have seen God or have seenJesus, but that's not happening
because scripture would tell usotherwise.
It's one of the things that Ilove about God's Word is that
there's no mystery.
(07:10):
You just need to read it and,with the help of the Holy Spirit
, you can understand God's Word.
You do not need advancedtraining.
I am testimony of that becauseI have not received advanced
training.
I'm not some graduate of sometheological school, a seminary.
(07:31):
I was attending a seminary, butGod has shown me in that
process of just how corruptthings have gotten and that
mankind we have decided to makechurch into a business Like all
businesses.
Now, for those who want toteach God's Word, the big
(07:53):
business, big denomination, nowhas their own seminaries and
they make it clear you mustfirst and foremost receive this
advanced education so you canteach God's Word.
But by reading God's Wordbeloved.
We know that the first centurychurch did nothing like that.
For hundreds of years thatwasn't even heard of.
(08:16):
Just take a look at theapostles, the twelve that Jesus
hand-picked to be those that hewould use to spread the gospel.
He picked common men.
Four of them were fishermen.
He did not choose society'select.
(08:38):
If he would have, he would havegone right to the Pharisees,
because the Pharisees were theelect.
They're the ones who couldrecite the Pentateuch, the first
five books of the Bible,verbatim, word for word, and
they took great pride in that.
And that was part of theproblem, that they took pride in
(08:59):
that.
So when John says no one hasseen God at any time, yeah,
that's a pretty simple statementand he makes it for a very good
reason the very fact that noone has seen God.
And yet we know God exists.
You ever think of that?
So no one has ever seen God,but we know God exists.
(09:23):
Now, of course, there's gettinginto his creation.
I believe it's Psalm 8, talkingabout the moon and the stars
and just how great God'screation is.
And yet he takes the time tolove us people.
And, yes, I think we're prettyamazing when it comes to how he
(09:45):
has made us.
The human body is verysophisticated and we know very
little about it, but when youthink of the stars and the moon,
what's all out there in thesecond heaven space, just how
much power and energy is in thesun alone, for example?
And of course, the sun is astar, but it's a big star to us,
(10:07):
but overall it's not that bigwhen it comes to the universe.
So we're pretty small and noone has seen God, but we know
God exists.
Because John says if we love oneanother, god abides in us and
his love has been perfected inus.
So, even though the worlddoesn't see God directly, if we
(10:34):
love one another, john is sayingwell then God abides in us.
He's saying people will see Godthrough us because of the love
that we have for one another,how we take care of one another
as in brethren, by the way,brothers and sisters in the
faith, are you in a church todaythat you love one another, and
(11:00):
does the world see you, yourbrothers and sisters in the
faith, and how you take care ofone another, how you love one
another, how that love for eachother and for God spills into
your community.
Because John's saying that,with that love, that's how
people see God.
People see God when we loveeach other and that is how his
(11:30):
love has been perfected in us.
That's how he lets the worldknow that he's God and that he
is love from his obedientchildren.
Verse 13,.
John says by this we know thatwe abide in him and he in us,
because he has given us of hisSpirit.
(11:51):
With the Holy Spirit dwellingin us, that is how we can love
other people.
Agape love, not the Hollywoodlove, not the cheap love that
the world knows.
But we know because of hisspirit.
The Holy Spirit speaks to ourspirit.
But that's how we know that weabide in him, in God, and that
(12:16):
he abides in us, because theHoly Spirit tells us that.
The Holy Spirit communicatesthat to us.
We're never alone.
That is us born-again believers, because the Holy Spirit's in
us.
I hope that's quite remarkableif you think about that.
The maker of the universe, godAlmighty Yahweh, abides in us,
(12:40):
abides in us.
It is absolutely amazing andyet goes unnoticed so often
within the circles ofChristianity.
But there's such power in thatVerse 14, and we have seen and
testify that the Father has sentthe Son as Savior of the world.
(13:04):
So verse 14, I'm sorry, verse13, mention of the Spirit and
God.
And now we're talking aboutFather and the Son.
There's our triune, god workingtogether, father, son and Holy
Spirit.
How they work together.
God has chosen that he willabide.
(13:25):
He will make known to us, makeknown to our spirit, upon being
born again, who he is in hisHoly Spirit.
The Holy Spirit communicatesthat to us.
And are you listening to that,beloved?
Do you take the time to listenafter maybe reading God's Word
or praying, meditating on whatGod has told you through His
(13:48):
Word?
Do you let the Holy Spiritspeak to you?
Do you block out the world?
You should.
If you're not in the practiceof doing that, I recommend that
every single day, you find acertain time of day where you
can be alone for some time andfind yourself a comfortable
place and start to either readGod's word or verses that you
(14:13):
have memorized, think about them, meditate on them, say them out
loud, perhaps, and listen.
Listen with your heart to whatthe Holy Spirit tells you,
because love certainly is thefoundation.
Love is the pillar ofChristianity.
Now, not for salvation, that'sthe blood of Christ, and it's
(14:36):
the believing in the blood ofChrist and that true repentance
that a person is born again,when they believe in their heart
that Jesus was resurrected fromthe dead, bodily resurrected
from the dead, but once a childof God.
I argue, then, that love,because what we have been
(14:56):
learning in just John alone, butPaul talks a lot about love and
loving one another and lovingGod.
Those are even commands.
Jesus says that to fulfill thelaw, love the Lord, your God,
with all of your heart, with allof your soul, with all of your
might.
And second to that is love yourneighbor as yourself.
(15:19):
And yes, loving yourself is arequirement.
Then, of course, not the kindof loving ourself like prideful
love, but appreciating who weare, because God himself made us
.
God knew who you were beforeeven time itself existed.
But this whole thing of love,one needs to grab a hold of it
(15:44):
and remember that, because it isthe pillar, it is the
foundation of the relationshipwith God.
We can go back to the book ofJohn, so the gospel of John,
chapter 14, verse 23,.
And Jesus is speaking If anyoneloves me, he will keep my word
(16:05):
and my Father will love him andwe will come to him and make our
home with him.
That's just awesome.
Obedience is integrated in agapelove.
Obedience goes with agape love.
It is hand in hand.
We can't have one without theother.
(16:28):
God is righteousness and he islove.
Love and righteousness gotogether.
And if we are not obeying, ifwe are not obedient to God,
first of all, then we're notbeing righteous and we are
commanded to be righteous, butthen that also means that we're
not loving him.
So we can't claim to love Godand yet not follow his ways?
(16:53):
Beloved, are you followingGod's ways?
Are you embracing what God'sword says and then doing it and
not just reading it, and then itbecomes just some rule that
floats around in space somewhere, but that you embrace it and
living that way becomes anecessity for you.
(17:16):
If anyone loves me, jesus sayshe will keep my word, very
crystal clear, not maybe orpartly.
He will keep, and whose word?
My word, that's the Bible, thescriptures.
(17:40):
We will do everything possibleto do that, and when we do that,
jesus says and my Father willlove him.
Remember Jesus is the only wayto salvation.
He is our Savior.
No one goes to the Father exceptthrough Jesus Christ, and
that's why all other religionsare just that.
(18:03):
They are only a religion,because they don't see Jesus
Christ as the Savior.
They don't recognize Jesus asthe Son of God, and for that
very reason it's only a religion.
Son of God, and for that veryreason it's only a religion.
They do not have access to God,the Father.
They have access to their ownGod, but that is their own
(18:24):
made-up God.
That is an idol, and yet theybelieve that that idol is the
God.
But if they don't recognizeJesus which they don't.
Or even for those who recognizethe name Jesus, they still
don't recognize Jesus which theydon't.
Or even for those who recognizethe name Jesus, they still
don't recognize Jesus for who hetruly is.
And Jesus says my Father willlove him and we.
(18:47):
So the Father and the Son, willcome to him and make our home
with him.
And it comes to mind that we, Ibelieve, would be the Holy
Spirit as well, because a personis born again and the Holy
Spirit takes resident in thatperson.
God himself, God, the Father,makes sure at that point in time
(19:10):
his spirit is in you.
So that's how important thislove is.
And love encompasses obedience.
So, going back to 1 John, verse15, whoever confesses that Jesus
is the Son of God, god abidesin him and he in God.
(19:31):
There's more of that connectionthat confesses, by the way,
that's believing in one's heart.
That's confession with themouth.
What one believes in theirheart, that's not head knowledge
.
So whoever confesses that Jesusis the Son of God, god abides
(19:52):
in him and he in God.
And of course that is theingredient of being born again,
right, being able to confess.
Romans 10 tells us that withthe mouth one confesses the Lord
Jesus.
There's that confession.
So that is part of being bornagain.
I say part because confessingthe Lord Jesus meaning that a
(20:15):
person confesses from theirheart that he is their Savior
and Lord of their life, and bydoing that one needs to
recognize and they do recognizeat that point that they are
broken and that they need theirSavior and there's repentance.
So that repentance is offeredup to God.
(20:36):
The person turns their life andthey are looking at God the
Father and they are saying Ican't do this alone.
And then in their heart, withtheir heart, they know that God
the Father raised Jesus from thedead and his blood was the
sacrifice to pay all of theirsin.
So whoever confesses that Jesusis the Son of God, god abides
(20:59):
in him and he in God.
It's amazing we are connectedwith the triune God by the
triune God Verse 16, and we haveknown and believed the love
that God has for us.
God is love, the love that Godhas for us, god is love, and he
who abides in love abides in Godand God in him.
(21:30):
John is really trying to make itclear, beloved, that love is
the pillar, that love is thefoundation, that we need that
love because God is a God, of arelationship.
He is not a distant God upthere, just kind of once in a
while peeking in at us.
He is with us.
He is enduring the pain of ourlife with us.
He is guiding us through hisHoly Spirit.
(21:52):
He is loving us through theHoly Spirit, through reading his
word.
He is loving us, and not onlylove but abide.
Isn't that something that isthe acceptance of each other?
It's an intimate relationshipand I love that.
(22:13):
God wants a relationship withme and he wants a relationship
with you.
In the last part of this, verse16, john reminds us that God is
love.
So when we abide in love, weare abiding in God.
That's why we are told inscriptures that we cannot claim
(22:36):
to be a child of God and nothave the love of the Father in
us.
In today's time, right now, withIsrael being at war, there are
many people of course theenemies of Israel who want them
completely wiped off the face ofthe earth.
(22:58):
It's no surprise.
Anybody who's read the Bible.
That's already been a prophecy.
We've already been told thatthat is.
The goal of the enemy of God isto annihilate, to wipe out
Israel.
Satan failed miserably.
He can't do anything to Godhimself.
(23:19):
God the Father, because he wastossed out of heaven.
God the Father, because he wastossed out of heaven.
And a third of the angels,those who agreed with Satan.
So then Satan decides okay,since I'm the ruler of this
world down here.
Oh, here comes Jesus manifestedin flesh.
Well then, I'll just take himout.
(23:40):
And Satan tried him out.
And Satan tried, he eventempted Jesus.
He tried getting Jesus to bowdown to him.
He tried everything he couldand then he thought he had him.
He thought this is it.
The guy is hanging on a cross,he is dead and gone.
But lo and behold, look whathappened.
Jesus conquers death, sodefeated once again, again.
(24:08):
Now he knows Satan knows forsure I can't conquer God, I
can't conquer his son.
So I'm going to do everything Ican then to wipe out those that
he loves.
And there's two different ways.
He tries to wipe out us, hischildren, god's children.
He does that.
He hates us.
So he does everything that hecan to either make it so people
(24:30):
think they are born again.
He has done an amazing job overthe centuries at convincing
people of some great lies, suchas be baptized as a baby and
that's it.
You will go to heaven.
Well, that's a big lie that,unfortunately, has taken
millions to hell because theybelieved on that and they
(24:53):
decided good enough for me, andso they just believed in their
baptism.
To this very day, there aredenominations that teach and
preach.
Remember your baptism, look toyour baptism, but it's not the
baptism.
Baptism of water doesabsolutely nothing.
But Satan has done a great job,hasn't he?
(25:13):
Baffled a whole bunch of people, or he'll put it in the hearts.
He keeps on whispering topeople and hey, as long as you
keep going to church everySunday you go to church, unless
you're sick or something reallyimportant comes up.
You attend church prettyregularly.
Oh, and look it, your church ispretty big.
Yep, your pastor, he's prettyfamous, and so you're going to
(25:36):
that church.
You're good to go, don't worryabout it.
Oh, just volunteer every oncein a while, do this or do that.
You know what?
Yeah, you're good with God.
Again, another great lie thatSatan has taught over the
centuries.
And people continue to biteinto it.
Why?
Because they love it.
They love the taste of thatfruit, because it's easy.
(25:59):
They don't have to look attheir sin, they don't have to
admit that they are broken andthat they need a savior.
They don't have to repent and,let's face it, too, that's tough
, isn't it?
For those of us who are bornagain and have gone through that
process of repenting, I tellyou that's not easy.
The flesh, very prideful,doesn't want to do that.
(26:20):
We want to be our own boss.
We want to be able to controlour salvation and our
destination.
So Satan continues to go afterthose that God loves.
And with the war that'shappening right now, well,
satan's going to do everythingpossible through the hearts of
(26:41):
mankind.
There are protests around theworld for Palestine.
They deserve their land back towipe out the Jewish people.
Satan, I think he believes thatif he actually can wipe out all
the Jews technically, if hewere able to do that, I guess he
(27:02):
would win, because think aboutit.
If he were able to do that, Iguess he would win Because think
about it.
Think about it just for amoment beloved, because there
are prophecies that have yet tobe fulfilled, and one of those
is for Jesus to be able to comeback and rule.
He will sit on the throne ofDavid, and it's not in existence
yet.
It was in history, but it's notnow, but someday it will be.
(27:27):
So Satan figures, if I wipe outevery Jew, guess what?
That can't be built, but weknow that's not going to happen.
God is love.
He loves you so much.
Don't buy into what the enemyis telling you.
He loves you so much.
Don't buy into what the enemyis telling you.
Look away from the world.
Remember, the devil owns thisworld right now.
(27:50):
The war yeah, we know how thewar ends, but there are still
battles and there are certainbattles that, yeah, he's winning
, but it's all under theguidance of our Heavenly Father.
And if Satan can convincebillions of people, all these
fake religions out there, andkeep them from believing in
(28:13):
Jesus Christ, the only way toheaven, well, yeah, he's
preventing a lot of people.
It's not just his fault,because he can't make anybody go
to hell, but he knows that thehuman heart is quick to grab
onto whatever it is that we like, and, just like with Adam and
(28:34):
Eve, there's that fruit that hedangles in front of people and
they grab a hold of it andthat's what they chew on instead
of doing what they need to doand should do, and that is, read
God's Word and find the truthfor themselves.
So in my teachings, I continueto encourage you to do that.
(28:55):
You get into God's Word.
You read God's Word, beloved.
I'm here for you if you needany help.
I continue to offer up a placewhere you can contact me and my
website or message me and theanonymous message text there
that can be sent and I answerquestions.
I am more than happy to answerquestions, but so many people
(29:19):
are afraid to, and I don't knowwhy.
But open God's Word, read it foryourself.
You pray to God, you speak tothe Holy Father.
You don't need a priest, youdon't need anybody else to
intercede, because Jesus Christis our intercessor.
Well, that's about all I havefor today.
(29:42):
Beloved, please get a hold ofme with any of your questions or
comments.
You're not in this alone andI'm not the only one that is out
there teaching God's Word andreaching out to people in order
to help them to understand thetruth, to get through all these
lies that have been generatedover the centuries.
(30:06):
There are a lot of other goodteachers out there, good pastors
, good, just Christians.
So open up God's Word, learnwho he is, love Him, pray to Him
, worship Him and grow withother brothers and sisters in
the faith.
This world is only going to gettougher.
(30:28):
Things are only going to getworse as Satan continues to work
overtime, and if you try doingthis by yourself, you won't last
.
I'm here for you and until nexttime, god bless, thank you.
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